Apparatus for inverting mailing envelopes

ABSTRACT

A housing is disclosed having upper and lower spaced pulleys at each end. A pair of endless belts are provided, with each belt being operatively connected between an upper pulley at one end and the lower pulley at the other end. The belts are each provided with a single twist between the ends thereof. A mailing envelope inserted between the pulleys at one end will be engaged by the belts which are being driven to thereby carry the envelope to the other end. The envelope is inverted as it is carried by the twisted belts.

United States Patent n 1 Whiteford 1451 Oct. 1, 197 4 APPARATUS FOR INVERTING MAILING ENVELOPES [76] Inventor: Bruce W. Whiteford, 8024 Northern Dr., Minneapolis, Minn. 55402 [22] Filed: Oct. 5, 1972 [2]] Appl. No.: 295,231

[52] US. Cl 198/238, 198/165, 271/186 [51] Int. Cl. B65g 47/24, B65g 15/14 [58] Field of Search 198/33 AC, 165,238; 271/34, 35, 185, 186, 198-203, 2; 425/370 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,580,342 4/1926 Staude 271/185 2,929,489 3/1960 Parrish 198/33 AC 3,048,393 8/1962 Furr et al.. 271/34 3,064,590 11/1962 Thiele 198/203 X 3,223,053 12/1965 Vimenez et al 198/165 X 3,738,642 6/1973 7 Blaire 271/34 Rl3,583 6/1913 Thiebault 425/370 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 519,942 11/1953 Belgium 198/33 AC Primary ExaminerRichard A. Schacher Assistant Examinew-James W. Miller Attorney, Agent, or Firm--Merchant, Gould, Smith & Edell [57] 7 ABSTRACT A housing is disclosed having upper and lower spaced pulleys at each end. A pair of endless belts are pro- 3 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED BUT 1 7 saw an: 5

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PATENTEDUCI 11914 SHEEI 3M3 APPARATUS FOR INVERTING MAILING ENVELOPES BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally to the field of automatic mailing machines, and more particularly relates to the construction of a machine designed to invert mailing envelopes being discharged from a sealing machine to place them in the proper position to be accepted by a stamp affixing machine.

2. Description of the Prior Art In recent years, machines have been developed to automatically stuff, seal and stamp envelopes for mailing. One system in common use employs a machine that automatically seals the envelope and then ejects the envelope in a generally horizontal planewith the sealed flap on top. The next step in the mailing procedure is to affix a stamp to the envelope. Another machine is available which will automatically affix the stamp. However, the envelope must be inverted so that the flap is down before it is inserted into the stamp machine. In the past, the envelopes have either been inverted manually or else somewhat complicated and unreliable mechanisms have been provided to accomplish this turn-over function. Typically, these inverting machines have been task they are performing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a simple, inexpensive, reliable and practically fool-proof device for inverting mailing envelopes. A pair of endless belts are mounted in a side-by-side relationship between two pairs of spaced pulleys. The pulleys are mounted in a common plane for rotation about parallel axes. Each belt is provided with a single twist by rotating one end thereof 180 with respect to the other end. The insideor center span of each belt is substantially in contact with the inside or center span of the other belt substantially throughout the common length thereof. The upper pulleys are driven in one direction while the lower pulleys are driven in the other direction so that the common center spans of the belts move in the same direction. An envelope inserted between the pulleys at one end will be engaged between the common spans of the two belts and carried thereby to theother end of the belts, and because the belts are twisted, will be inverted during the trip. In the preferred embodiment, the envelope engaging surfaces of the two belts are provided with correspondingly spaced, matching teeth to providepositive engagement between the common spans of the belts. The engagement depth is very shallow so as not to injure envelopes being carried therebetween.

The mailing envelope inverting apparatus of the present invention can be operated at relatively high speed so that an envelope inserted at one end will pass through the unit and be inverted in no more than a fraction of a second. The unit will accept envelopes as fast as they are discharged from the sealing machine and will eject them in a position suitable for acceptance by the sump affixing machine. Because of the simplicity, reliability and speed of operation of the present invention, the step of turning over the envelopes between the sealing andstamping stations is no longer a delay causing step in the mailing procedure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4 showing how the toothed belts engage;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, showing a preferred embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary side view showing the relationship of the pulleys and belts at the entrance end of the preferred embodiment; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view similar to that of FIG. 8 showing an envelope passing between the belts.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals will be used throughout the several views to indicate like elements of the invention, there is disclosed in FIG. 1 a series of machines designed to seal, invert and stamp mailing envelopes. The envelope 10 passes through a flap sealing machine 11 and emerges from beneath a hold-down member 12 with the sealed flap facing upwardly. The envelope 10 passes through the sealing machine 11 in an end-to-end manner rather than sideways, so that one end of the envelope emerges from the sealing machine. The envelope emerging from the sealing machine 11 must be inverted before it is fed into the stamp machine 13 which applies an appropriate stamp to the upper right-hand corner of the face of the envelope 10. The first end of the envelope 10 to emerge from sealing machine 11 should also enter the stamp machine 13 first. However, the envelope must be turned over so that the flap faces downwardly. Machine 13 can be of the type shown in the co-pending US. patent application Ser. No. 157,374, filed June 28, 1971, and entitled Postage Stamp Applicator. Of course, other types of stamp machines could be used as well.

The present invention relates to apparatus for inverting the mailing envelope 10 between its exit from the sealing machine 11 and its entry into the stamp machine 13. The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1-6 includes a rectangular, box-like housing 15 having parallel, spaced side walls l6, l7 and parallel, spaced end walls l8, 19. Housing 15 further includes a closed bottom and a removable top 21. End wall 18 is provided with an envelope inlet opening 22 near the center thereof, of appropriate size to permit the envelope l0 to enter housing 15 therethrough. A similar envelope outlet opening 23 is formed in end wall 19. A pair of spaced guide members 24, 25 are mounted on opposite sides of the inlet opening 22, on the outside of the housing 15, facing toward the envelope emerging from sealing machine 11 and adapted to guide the envelope into the opening 22. The spacing of the guide members 24, 25 can be adjusted by means of a pair of adjustable locking nuts 24a, 25a which are threaded on studs extending from the end wall through appropriate slots 24b, 25b in the portions of the guide members which lie against the end wall 18.

Extending between the side walls 16, 17 adjacent the inlet opening 22 are a pair of parallel shafts 28 and 29. Shaft 28 is positioned directly above shaft 29. The two shafts are perpendicular to the side walls 16, 17. The ends of the shafts 28, 29 are rotatably mounted in individual bearing assemblies 30 which are bolted to the side walls.

A second pair of parallel shafts 31 and 32 extend be tween the side walls 16, 17 adjacent the envelope outlet opening 23. The shafts 31, 32 are again perpendicular to the side walls, with shaft 31 positioned directly above shaft 32. The ends of the shafts 31, 32 are also rotatably mounted in suitable bearing assemblies secured to the side walls. Although the bearing assemblies are shown to be fixedly mounted to the side walls, they could be adjustably mounted so that the shafts 28,

29 and 31, 32 could be moved farther apart to accommodate thicker envelopes.

Each of the four shafts has a pulley fixedly mounted at the center thereof. At the inlet end, a first or upper pulley 33 is mounted on shaft 28, and a second or lower pulley 34 is mounted on shaft 29. At the outlet end, a first or upper pulley 35 is mounted on shaft 31 and a second or lower pulley 36 is mounted on shaft 32. All

four pulleys 33, 34, 35, 36 lie in a common plane extending perpendicular to the shafts.

A pair of flexible, endless timing-type belts 39, 40 are mounted on the pulleys. Belt 39 is mounted for operative engagement with first pulley 33 at the inlet end and second pulley 36 and the outlet end. Belt 40 operatively engages first pulley at the outlet end and second pulley 34 at the inlet end. The belts 39, each have a single twist between the ends thereof which is obtained by rotating one end of the belt 180 with respect to its other end. For the purpose of describing this relationship, each belt 39, 40 can be considered to have two spans extending between the pulleys at the ends thereof. Thus, belt 39 has an inner span 39a extending from the bottom of pulley 33 to the top of pulley 36, and an outer span 39b extending from the top of pulley 33 to the bottom of pulley 36. Belt 40 has an inner span 40a extending from the top of pulley 34 to the bottom of pulley 35 and an outer span 40b extending from the bottom of pulley 34 to the top of pulley 35. The term inner is used with respect to the inner spans 39a and 40a for two reasons. For one thing, the inner spans 39a, 40a run horizontally across the housing between the two sets of pulleys 33-34 and 35-36, and because at the center of the housing where the belts intersect halfway between the two pairs of pulleys, the inner spans 39a, 40a lie between the outer spans 39b, 40b.

Preferably, the belts 39, 40 are each provided with matching, engageable teeth 39c, 400 as best shown in FIG. 6. The belts 39, 40 have a smooth face which engages the pulleys. The faces of the belts having the teeth thereon thus face outwardly from the pulleys. The

pulleys 33, 34 at the inlet end are spaced apart a predetermined distance such that an envelope inserted therebetween through the inlet opening 22 will be engaged by the belts 39, 40. As viewed in FIG. 2, the upper pulleys 33 and 35 are driven in a counterclockwise direction while the lower pulleys 34 and 36 are driven in a clockwise direction. The two inner spans 39a, 40a thus move together in the same direction, from left to right as shown in FIG. 2. Th inner spans 39a. 40a engage each other over the entire distance between the inlet pulleys 33-34 and the outlet pulleys 35-36. Thus. an envelope 10 inserted between them at the inlet end will be carried by the two inner spans 39a, 40a to the outlet end of the housing 15. Because of the previously described twist in the belts, the envelope will be inverted or flipped as it travels through the housing. Thus, the

envelope 10 will be ejected from between the pulleys 35, 36 through the outlet opening 23 for engagement by apparatus on the stamp machine 13.

As shown in FIG. 6, the teeth on the belts preferably engage a very slight amount to help prevent slippage between the belts and to better engage the envelope 10 being carried therebetween. The depth of the engagement of the teeth is very short so as to prevent damage to the envelopes 10. In actual practice, this results in no damage to the envelopes 10 although a minor impression of the teeth can be seen on the envelopes 10.

To drive the pulleys 33-36, a separate drive pulley 43 is mounted on shaft 32 and is connected by means of a drive belt 44 toa drive pulley 45 on stamp machine 13. If desired, however, a separate drive motor could be provided within the housing 15. Drive pulley 43 causes rotation of drive shaft 32 and pulley 36 mounted thereon. Pulley 36 drives belt 39 which in turn drives pulley 33 and shaft 28. By virtue of the mating teeth on the two belts, belt 39 drives belt 40 at the same speed. In order to absolutely prevent slippage between the belts, I have also added a second drive belt 46 which operatively engages drive pulleys mounted on shafts 29 and 32 adjacent side wall 16. Belt 46 thus transfers drive power directly from driven shaft 32 to shaft 29. Because shaft 32 engages belt 39 and shaft 29 engages belt 40, both belts are driven at exactly the same speed so that no slippage between them can occur. Actually, the system will operate without difficulty under most conditions without belt 46 by virture of engagement between the teeth on the two belts. However, belt 46 does insure that no slippage between the belts will occur.

In the embodiments shown, the envelope engaging surfaces of the two belts are provided with matching teeth. However, if other means are provided to drive the two belts, it is only necessary that they move together at a common speed in a close relationship so as to frictionally engage an envelope between them. The frictional engagement must be sufficient to prevent slippage of the envelope with respect to the belt as it travels through the housing. In actual practice, the pulleys operate at a high rate of speed so that the envelope is carried through the housing 15 in a fraction of a second. The envelope l0 enters the housing 15 with the flap facing upwardly as shown in FIG. 1. As it enters the housing, it passes between the toothed belts on pulleys 33 and 34 and is engaged by the teeth on the inner spans 39a, 40a. The inner spans carry the envelope between them to the right as shown in FIG. 2 and because the belts have a single twist from one end to the other, the envelope is inverted as it is carried through the housing. It is thus ejected from between pulleys 35 and 36 with the flap facing downwardly.

In FIGS. 7-9, there is disclosed an improved and preferred embodiment of my invention. Because the structure is generally the same, except for the location of the pulleys, the same reference numerals will be used together with a prime notation. The basic difference between this preferred embodiment and the earlier described embodiment is that the shafts 28', 29 and 31 32' areno longer vertically aligned. The two upper shafts 28' and 31 are mounted closer together than the two lower shafts 29' and 32. The four shafts 28', 29', 31 and 32' are still parallel to each other, and the four pulleys 33', 34', 35 and 36 still lie in a common vertical plane. The upper shafts 28 and 31' have been moved an equal distance toward each other in a horizontal plane. Each has been moved inwardly a distance corresponding to about two-thirds or three-quarters of the diameter of the pulleys. Because the two top shafts 28' and 31 are moved toward each other an equal distance, the two belts 39' and 40 are still of equal length. The belts 39', 40' are mounted on the pulleys exactly as before and operate in the same manner to carry envelopes and invert them between the ends thereof.

As best shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the result of moving the shafts out of vertical alignment is that the pulleys at each end are then spaced further apart. FIG. 8 shows the relationship of the two entrance pulleys 33', 34. It will be noted from FIG. 8 that the two pulleys 33' and 34 are now spaced a considerable distance apart, as compared to the distance between the same pulleys in the other embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1-6, the distance between the two pulleys at each end establishes a maximum thickness of envelope that can be carried therebetween. The embodiment of FIGS. 1-6 will basically accommodate one thickness of envelope. As opposed to this, the preferred embodiment shown in FIGS. 7-9 will accommodate a wide range of envelope thicknesses, without adjustment. As shown in FIG. 8, the belts under normal circumstances engage each other in the same manner as that previously described with reference to the other embodiment. However, in the event a much thicker envelope is being mailed, the belts 39, 40' of this embodiment can move apart as required to accommodate the thicker envelope, as shown in FIG. 9. The distance between the two pulleys 33, 34' is no longer the same limiting factor that it was in the other embodiment. The effective distance between the two pulleys 33', 34 is now A-A as shown in FIG. 9, rather than the distance 8-8 of the earlier embodiment. It should be emphasized that the distance between the inner spans 39a and 400' will automatically adjust to accommodate en velopes ranging in thickness from smaller than BB up to AA. Of course, to permit this accommodation, there must be at least a minimum amount of slack in the belts. However, I have observed that the belts can be relatively tight and still provide sufficient slack to accommodate the thicker envelopes.

The present invention thus provides a simple and effective means of inverting or flipping envelopes in an automated mailing system. The novel features of the present invention are defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is: 1. Apparatus for inverting mailing envelopes, comprising:

a. a housing having a pair of parallel side walls, and a pair of parallel end walls with an envelope inlet opening in one end wall and. an envelope outlet opening in an opposite end wall;

b. a first pair of parallel shafts extending between said side walls adjacent said inlet opening, and a second pair of shafts parallel with said first pair extending between said side walls adjacent said outlet openmg;

0. first and second correspondingly located pulleys on each pair of shafts positioned adjacent said openings, said pulleys lying in a common plane extending normal to said shafts;

d. a pair of flexible endless belts having external envelope engaging surfaces, each of said belts having a single twist between the ends thereof and being operatively engaged with a first pulley adjacent the other opening, said pulleys on each pair of shafts being spaced a predetermined distance apart such that an envelope engaging surface of one belt opposes an envelope engaging surface of the other belt so that an envelope inserted therebetween will be engaged by said pair of belts, said envelope engaging surfaces comprising matching, engageable teeth; and

e. means for driving said first pulleys in one direction and said second pulleys in the other direction so that the envelope engaging surfaces of said belts move in the same direction to carry envelopes from said inlet opening to said outlet opening and to invert the envelopes as they are being carried therebetween.

2.'Apparatus for inverting mailing envelopes, comprising:

a. a housing having opposite first and second ends;

b. first and second rotatable, spaced pulleys mounted adjacent said first end, and first and second correspondingly positioned, rotatable spaced pulleys mounted adjacent said second end, said pulleys being mounted in generally the same plane for rotation about generally parallel axes;

c. a pair of endless belts extending between said ends, each of said belts operatively engaging one of said first pulleys and the second pulley at the opposite end of the housing, and each of said belts having a single twist between the pulleys obtained by rotating one pulley engaging end thereof with respect to its other pulley engaging end, each of said belts comprising an inner span and an outer span extending between said pulleys and said inner spans extending in aligned, substantially contacting relationship;

(I. said pulleys at each end being spaced apart so that an envelope inserted therebetween will be engaged between said two inner spans of said belts mounted thereon substantially throughout the length thereof;

e. means for driving said first pulleys in one direction and said second pulleys in the other direction to carry envelopes between said belts from said first end to said second end and to invert the envelopes as they are carried therebetween; and

f. said belts having envelope engaging surfaces comprising matching, engageable teeth.

3. Article inverting apparatus, comprising:

a. a first pair of first and second rotatable pulleys;

b. a second pair of first and second rotatable pulleys correspondingly positioned with respect to said first pair of rotatable pulleys and spaced therefrom;

0. means mounting said pulleys on parallel axes for rotation in a common plane and to permit an article to be inverted to pass between each pair of said pair of pulleys;

d. a pair of endless belts having outer article engaging surfaces, one of said belts extending between said first pulley and said second pulley on said first and second pair of pulleys respectively and the other of said belts extending between said second pulley and said first pulley of said first and second pair of pulleys respectively so that portions of said belts extend substantially parallel with said surfaces in substantial contact;

e. each of said belts having a single twist between the g. said article engaging surfaces comprising matching engageable teeth. 

1. Apparatus for inverting mailing envelopes, comprising: a. a housing having a pair of parallel side walls, and a pair of parallel end walls with an envelope inlet opening in one end wall and an envelope outlet opening in an opposite end wall; b. a first pair of parallel shafts extending between said side walls adjacent said inlet opening, and a second pair of shafts parallel with said first pair extending between said side walls adjacent said outlet opening; c. first and second correspondingly located pulleys on each pair of shafts positioned adjacent said openings, said pulleys lying in a common plane extending normal to said shafts; d. a pair of flexible endless belts having external envelope engaging surfaces, each of said belts having a single twist between the ends thereof and being operatively engaged with a first pulley adjacent the other opening, said pulleys on each pair of shafts being spaced a predetermined distance apart such that an envelope engaging surface of one belt opposes an envelope engaging surface of the other belt so that an envelope inserted therebetween will be engaged by said pair of belts, said envelope engaging surfaces comprising matching, engageable teeth; and e. means for driving said first pulleys in one direction and said second pulleys in the other direction so that the envelope engaging surfaces of said belts move in the same direction to carry envelopes from said inlet opening to said outlet opening and to invert the envelopes as They are being carried therebetween.
 2. Apparatus for inverting mailing envelopes, comprising: a. a housing having opposite first and second ends; b. first and second rotatable, spaced pulleys mounted adjacent said first end, and first and second correspondingly positioned, rotatable spaced pulleys mounted adjacent said second end, said pulleys being mounted in generally the same plane for rotation about generally parallel axes; c. a pair of endless belts extending between said ends, each of said belts operatively engaging one of said first pulleys and the second pulley at the opposite end of the housing, and each of said belts having a single twist between the pulleys obtained by rotating one pulley engaging end thereof 180* with respect to its other pulley engaging end, each of said belts comprising an inner span and an outer span extending between said pulleys and said inner spans extending in aligned, substantially contacting relationship; d. said pulleys at each end being spaced apart so that an envelope inserted therebetween will be engaged between said two inner spans of said belts mounted thereon substantially throughout the length thereof; e. means for driving said first pulleys in one direction and said second pulleys in the other direction to carry envelopes between said belts from said first end to said second end and to invert the envelopes as they are carried therebetween; and f. said belts having envelope engaging surfaces comprising matching, engageable teeth.
 3. Article inverting apparatus, comprising: a. a first pair of first and second rotatable pulleys; b. a second pair of first and second rotatable pulleys correspondingly positioned with respect to said first pair of rotatable pulleys and spaced therefrom; c. means mounting said pulleys on parallel axes for rotation in a common plane and to permit an article to be inverted to pass between each pair of said pair of pulleys; d. a pair of endless belts having outer article engaging surfaces, one of said belts extending between said first pulley and said second pulley on said first and second pair of pulleys respectively and the other of said belts extending between said second pulley and said first pulley of said first and second pair of pulleys respectively so that portions of said belts extend substantially parallel with said surfaces in substantial contact; e. each of said belts having a single twist between the pulleys on which it is mounted; f. means for driving said first pulleys in one direction and said second pulleys in the opposite direction so that the article engaging surfaces thereof move in the same direction to carry articles received between said belts from said first pair of pulleys to said second pair of pulleys and invert the articles as they are carried therebetween; and g. said article engaging surfaces comprising matching engageable teeth. 